What Training are you working on?

[CorgiMum]

Dylan & I are working slowly on our dressage routine. Isolated moves on his part, which of course he understands and remembers in a snap! But tons of memory work for me of the new routine. So that, and resocializiing him to strange dogs in large numbers.

Our freestyle club had a competition last Sat and as we were not competing this time I was able to really have a good look at everyone else's routines while I manned the entrance/raffle tables.

After we set up, well before the start time I was able to bring Dylan into the building and work him a bit. The minute he saw the warm up ring he pulled me towards it. I have been very concerned about him becoming unsocialized around other dogs because he has not been to a class in a year now. But, he did not pay any negative attention to any dogs he encountered, familiar or stangers. He even tried to kiss a golden that I was petting. (he is sometimes jealous)

He had the biggest grin on his face the entire time he as in the building! And I was so proud of my liltle guy.:SMILE: He misses our regular Sat training classes as much as I do.

And to top it off, I spoke with a friend that told me our trainer is now considering teaching Rally-O! I've been wanting to do this with Dylan for so long. I confirmed with him, he was there as our MC. Now I just have to hope that there are enough of us interested that the class is a go, and that it takes place on Saturdays as it is a one hour drive to the facility, and we'd never be able to make it during the week nights.

I want to do Rally with Dylan and am not going for his CDX as it would entail jumping, and I still worry about his surgery leg.

What training are you working on at home? In a class?

[CorgiMum]

I'm working on "down" with Link, and excessive barking control with both Millie and Link (wish me luck there!).

They say that the 'down' is the hardest to train because it puts the dog in such a submissive position.

Sometimes playing 'beat the clock' helps the dog relax with the command. I play games with Dylan & then throw out a 'down', and see how fast he reacts. When he is quick he gets a treat.

When he was a pup I would solicit Monty's help. Playing it with both of them, and the quickest was the winner of the treat. Once he caught on to that, I would treat them both for good trys.:SMILE:

[Cheetah]

Woah, there is dog dressage? >O_o<

I'm just improving Shippo's heel, and working on strangers approaching us without Shippo breaking position (this one is hard because so many people REWARD him for breaking position). We hope to take the CGC test soon.

Aside from that, he knows "wave" now... lol

[CorgiMum]

Woah, there is dog dressage? >O_o<

Yes there is, it's still fairly new, but is catching on fast. There were 7 competator entires at our freestyle competiton last weekend.

Those of us that like heel work (& music) really enjoy it.:SMILE:

http://www.bcfirst.com/paws/

[Fluffypants]

We are working on wave too. Also - reverse heeling, jumps, and not freaking out when we see a person or dog on a walk (my little social butterfly gets so excited at the sight of potential new playmates).

And there's the ongoing training of LEAVE IT, so we don't eat everything we see on our walks!! :EEK:

[Dillydoodle]

Dillon and I started a Rally-O novice class-We have reviewed all the signs... and Dillon can perform each and every one. The hardest one for us was actually the moving down... but he did it! i am really proud of him. We still need to work on non school related things- such as 1) not jumping up wildly when he meet someone new. This has been hardest to break as his daddy rewards him for jumping up... and all new people end up rewarding him for jumping up as well, so this has been tough...

Now gus has no training background at all, other than walking nice on a leash and NOT sitting! I have trained him now how to sit- but he likes a verbal AND hand signal. I have been working hard to train him to use the little stairs to get onto our bed, and off, and he will not leap off the bed , he always either wants me to help him down or he will now use the steps. I am so proud of his progress. We will be starting a basic obedience class in about a week or so... I am looking forward to taking him, I am hoping he doesnt feel overwhelmed although i doubt it! he is so mellow about it all, i am sure he will take it all in stride, and be so happy to get cookies for the hour long class!!!!

Emilie

[CorgiMum]

Dillon and I started a Rally-O novice class-We have reviewed all the signs... and Dillon can perform each and every one. The hardest one for us was actually the moving down... but he did it!

We will be starting a basic obedience class in about a week or so... I am looking forward to taking him, I am hoping he doesnt feel overwhelmed although i doubt it!
Emilie

If I'm lucky enough to take the Rally-O class I'll be asking you questions, and I have one now. What is the moving down please?

Good luck with Gus' first Ob class, I bet that you both have a blast! Looking forward to hearing the updates.

[CorgiMum]

We are working on wave too. Also - reverse heeling

And there's the ongoing training of LEAVE IT, so we don't eat everything we see on our walks!! :EEK:

Jessica, the reverse heeling, Dylan and I do that in freestyle, but it is very hard for him to go straight back for more than 3-4 steps. My guy is a very bendy type corgi.:CUTE:

Leave it, yes that's an ongoing one...forever. I remember Monty's Puppy K class and the instructor used slices of hotdogs for leave it.

I read about another use for these in dog training. Someone used a hotdog in a retrieval situation! And the dog brings it back! Whole! Wasn't a corgi though.:LAUGH:

[Fluffypants]

I can't see Jackie retrieving food without taking a taste!

Reverse heeling is tough for us too - she always wants to turn around or hop backwards. So we are working with her sandwiched between me and the wall, no choice but to back up. Right now I am rewarding for even one step back without jumping or turning or sitting! It's a tough thing to explain to a dog! :BIGLAUGH:

I love to talk Rally, so please ask any questions you want.

Moving Down - Handler and dog are heeling and handler asks dog to down without stopping or sitting first. Similar to what the dog would do in a RECALL-DOWN-RECALL, except in heel position. Later, it will evolve to a moving down where the handler keeps moving but dog has to down and stay.

[CorgiMum]

I can't see Jackie retrieving food without taking a taste!

Reverse heeling is tough for us too - she always wants to turn around or hop backwards. So we are working with her sandwiched between me and the wall, no choice but to back up. Right now I am rewarding for even one step back without jumping or turning or sitting! It's a tough thing to explain to a dog! :BIGLAUGH:

I love to talk Rally, so please ask any questions you want.

Moving Down - Handler and dog are heeling and handler asks dog to down without stopping or sitting first. Similar to what the dog would do in a RECALL-DOWN-RECALL, except in heel position. Later, it will evolve to a moving down where the handler keeps moving but dog has to down and stay.


Neither of my two could ever to the hot dog reacall!

The way that you are teaching the 'Back" as we call it, that is exactly the way that we were taught as well, in our freestyle class. Hay, are you going to try freestyle?:BIGGRIN"

Thanks for explaining the Moving Down. Dylan can do that now, even if I keep on walking. It's part of our dressage routine. We heel, he swings in a anti clockwise circle beside me, goes behind me to my right (Side) we heel, then he downs. I step over him, he is again on my left, we do that three times and then we continue heeling. It'a a cute transition move. But all to the beat of the music of course.:TWITCHY:

I think that we will do quite well in Rally-O, and I know that we will have fun.

[Fluffypants]

I think you will do well too. If you can do dressage, you can definitely do Rally.

Maybe someday we will try freestyle - right now it looks really intimidating! Maybe we need to head North to get some coaching (and a little R&R in that glorious yard of yours!) . . . . ;)

[CorgiMum]

If you can do Ob & Rally you can do Freestyle. It's just a series of moves/tricks done to beat of the music, which is chosen according to the gait of the dog and suitable for the handler.

If you are ever want to know more, I love talking Freestyle.:WINK:

[sutulu]

Wow, we must have the most well behaved dogs..... Hahahaha!

Lots of good things.

I'll add my $.02.... Some common things to train that come in handy for just about everything is paying attention to the handler/you. I use "Eyes" as the command to get my hoodlums to look at me.

Tucker was the laughing stock of Obedience Class. His eyes would be on everything but me. Rally-O helped him a bit but Agility has made a huge difference. Why has Agility helped? I think he is having more fun!

The other thing is "stay" or "wait". A tough job for Tucker who knows it all but he needs to stay/wait in many circumstances. Lulu is so inconsistant and we are working on it.

Also.... "with me" or "by me" comes in very handy in all kinds of situations.

[CorgiMum]

Susan I use 'By me ' too, for a loose heel, and 'Watch (me)' when you use 'Eyes'. In fact teaching the Watch was what finally got Dylan to stop pulling completely, after 7 years, and give an excellent heel position.

I also use wait a lot. It came in very handy when I was teaching Dylan to stop heeling mid stream and stand perfectly still while I kept on walking.

[Dillydoodle]

Sorry i missed out on this yesterday! i got tied up and didnt get a chance to check the thread until this morning... well, Jess gave you the perfect description of a moving down... I trained Dillon to walk backwards by a hand signal and the word " back, back". He also tends to go backwards, barbara ( we must both have bendy corgis LOL!!!) and I was also taught to work with him against the wall to get him to walk straight. I think of it like swimming backwards in a pool.... when i try to do the back stroke i never go straight unless i am against the wall - otherwise, i am in half a dozen lanes LOL!!!

Barbara, Dressage sounds quite complicated and i am sure that Rally will be easy for him... it is tons of heeling and heeling around cones, and such.. Again we are only in Novice Rally so the signs we learned are basic, I haven't seen how complicated they get, kind of on purpose, i get overwhelmed easily!

As for a hotdog recall, :TWITCHY: yeah RIGHT!!! Dillon would bring the hotdog back no problem... in his BELLY! ROFL!!!!

The other thing we are working on is "nicely" which means when i hand you a piece of food , you take it nicely and don't take the tip of my finger with the treat! I have been working on this forever it seems, and the approach is everything... if i kneel down and offer the treat it is taken nicely, otherwise, they tend to snap it up... Gus is not as bad as Dillon but they both have their moments. We will continue to work on this.

Emilie

[CorgiMum]

Of course, when we are on the rally course, we don't have that luxury, so (like Susan) I tend to get scratched occasionally.

I didn't know that, you can give treats ON the Rally course?:ER:

[Fluffypants]

I didn't know that, you can give treats ON the Rally course?:ER:

In training, of course.
And you are allowed to treat after stationary exercises in APDT Rally trials (www.apdt.com). In AKC, I don't think you are allowed to use treats, but you can use verbal praise / feedback. I haven't done an official AKC trial yet, so am not as familiar with their rules as I am with APDT.

[CorgiMum]

We'll be following these rules:

http://www.canadianrallyo.ca/

I've worked so hard at not treating as we go, because of the Ob trials & Freestyle competitions, I'm going to start off our Rally experience with just doing a jackpot when we start out and exit the ring.

We also do that in our practice ring here at home, so Dylan is well used to that method. Fingers crossed that it continues to work with my boy.

[Fluffypants]

Even though it's allowed in certain circumstances, I don't treat Jackie in the ring during trials either* (and rarely in training, just enough to make her think she might get a treat if she does what I say). I give her one treat before we start, and a jackpot when we finish.

*Treating at the wrong time can cost you . . .
(excerpt below from APDT website http://www.apdt.com/po/rally/rules/word/chap01_2007.doc):
8. Any petting, touching or food rewards that significantly interrupt the flow of the performance shall be scored accordingly. "Significantly interrupts" shall be defined as impeding the natural forward flow of movement of the team and deductions of 1 point or more may be made for any instances that significantly interrupt the flow of the performance.

. . .This wording frightens me enough to keep me from giving her ANY treats in the ring. Why risk it? :NAH:

[CorgiMum]

This wording frightens me enough to keep me from giving her ANY treats in the ring. Why risk it? :NAH:

I agree. Guess I better watch using my hands to make signals too.+SAD+

[Fluffypants]

I agree. Guess I better watch using my hands to make signals too.+SAD+

Right - You don't want to look like you are luring - that's an NQ! (in APDT anyway)

[Dillydoodle]

what? luring with nothing in my hand is one of the best ways to get dillon to perform..oh boy, i am in BIG trouble LOL!!!
Em

[sutulu]

An Aussie shepard pal of ours had a clean run at the Agility trial over the weekend. But before leaving the ring, the owner/handler reached into his pocket and pulled out a treat and gave it to the dog.

XXXXXXX!

They gave him a NQ! And this was Level 1. Way harsh in my opinion. Of course the guy was kicking himself. He knew that treats are not allowed in the ring, you are supposed to leave them off your person before stepping into the ring.

Ughhhhhhhh!

[CorgiMum]

What a shame!+SAD+

I leave a treat bag hung on the ring entrance in the garage so as not to make a habit of keeping them in my pocket while training.